State Board of Education

The State Board of Education (SBOE) is composed of 15 elected members with each member representing more than a million Texans. Together, the members of the SBOE, the commissioner of education, and the Texas Education Agency (TEA) facilitate the operation of the Texas public school system consisting of more than 1,200 school districts and charter schools, 8,200 campuses, 630,000 educators and other employees, and 4.7 million school children.

The SBOE adopts rules and establishes policies that govern a wide range of educational programs and services provided by Texas public schools.  The SBOE’s duties include:

• Overseeing the investment of the Permanent School Fund which help funds public schools;
• Mandating what Texas students are taught and what classroom teachers must teach through the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills;
• Selecting textbooks and instructional materials from which Texas school districts chose;
• Approving the creation or revocation of open-enrollment charter schools;
• Adopting rules governing teacher and administrator certification and ethics as proposed by the State Board for Educator Certification; and
• Setting goals for the Texas public school system and adopting four-year plans for meeting those goals.

The Texas Education Agency

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) oversees primary and secondary public education in the state of Texas. Its mission is to provide leadership, guidance and resources to help schools meet the educational needs of all students and prepare them for success in the global economy. Under the leadership of the commissioner of education, the TEA carries out the following functions:

• Administers the distribution of state and federal funding to public schools;
• Administers the statewide assessment program and accountability system;
• Provides support to the State Board of Education (SBOE) in the development of the statewide curriculum;
• Assists the SBOE in the instructional materials adoption process and managing the instructional materials distribution process;
• Administers a data collection system on public school information;
• Performs the administrative functions and services of the State Board for Educator Certification;
• Supports agency operations, including carrying out duties related to the Permanent School Fund; and
• Monitors for compliance with certain federal and state guidelines.

Contact Commissioner Morath at commissioner@tea.texas.gov.